The wind rises at the end of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 441 Xiangyang
In June of the 13th year of Chongzhen, Zhang Xianzhong captured Xiangyang.

It was not until September of the 14th year of Chongzhen that Xiangyang was finally recovered.

The once prosperous city of Xiangyang was almost destroyed in the war.

In order to defend Xiangyang, Li Dingguo expelled a large number of people from the city to reduce the consumption of food and fodder.

But time can eventually dilute everything.

Today, the city of Xiangyang has stood up again from the war and is now much more populated.

Thousands of ships are passing by on the river and hundreds of horses are competing for the current. It is hard to imagine that a fierce war has ever broken out here.

At the dock of Xiangyang, ship owners and workers stood on the boats, directing the workers who were carrying the goods, constantly loading and unloading the goods.

Ships come and go, with new ships constantly docking at the pier and ships constantly leaving the pier.

The dock was bustling with people coming and going, and the war that had taken place seemed like just a dream.

But now it has indeed become a dream.

Since the Hanzhong Army recaptured Xiangyang, there have been no more attacks from bandits around Xiangyang, and even the pirates and mountain bandits that had been around for a long time have disappeared.

In Xiangyang Prefecture, the bandits and pirates who were rampant in the past have all been wiped out by the Hanzhong Army.

There were so many people to be killed that there was no space enough for the execution platform in the city.

The Hanzhong army converted the military camp in the south of the city into a temporary execution ground, and the captured bandits and pirates they brought back were executed one by one in the south of the city.

Thousands of heads fell to the ground, and the public security in the entire Xiangyang Prefecture was improved in an instant.

Not only that, due to the impact of the war, a large amount of land lost its owner and was taken away by the government.

The government recruits people to come and open up land for planting. Although the land is not distributed, they do not have to hand over a single cent of the first year's harvest.

In the second year, a land tax of 35% had to be paid, which was much higher than the original land tax.

However, the government posted a notice clearly stating that all other exorbitant taxes and levies would be abolished. In comparison, paying 35% of the land tax was much more cost-effective.

Henan has suffered severe disasters in recent years. There were already many refugees gathered in Xiangyang Prefecture, and there were also many Xiangyang residents who had been expelled from the city before. Even more people from all over Huguang came because of the preferential policies in Xiangyang Prefecture.

Therefore, Xiangyang City was able to become prosperous again in less than a year.

As the population increases, business will become more prosperous.

In the past year, many new shops have opened around the pier.

Among all shops, teahouse business is the most popular.

There are many laborers coming and going at the dock, as well as merchants doing business, so it is naturally a place for them to rest.

In addition, the weather is hot, so at this time, if you can have a big bowl of herbal tea that can quench your thirst and cool down, it will undoubtedly be the greatest enjoyment.

The tea in the teahouse is not expensive. You only need a few copper coins to get a big bowl of herbal tea.

But there were only a few seats available for customers, so if you wanted to buy a bowl of herbal tea, you could only sit on the steps outside the store.

If you want to sit at the table, you have to spend some more money and buy some snacks.

The store has set up several awnings and placed some benches for sitting on in some places along the outer edge, which can also provide shade and shelter for customers sitting outside.

So sitting outside the store is actually not too bad.

Moreover, there are always storytellers in the teahouse.

The storyteller has a loud voice and can be heard clearly even if you are sitting outside the store.

For a few copper coins, you can not only drink herbal tea, but also listen to the storyteller telling stories from ancient times to the present. It can really be considered a great pastime.

"Waiter, six bowls of herbal tea!"

A group of laborers who had just finished work came over chatting and laughing, and greeted loudly at the door of the store.

"I am here, sir, please wait a moment."

The waiter who was standing outside the teahouse taking care of a group of customers who only bought herbal tea, smiled professionally when he heard the shout, and immediately responded.

The waiter skillfully took the rag off his shoulder, wiped his hands, and greeted the few people under the awning, then shouted to the store:

“Six bowls of herbal tea!”

Someone in the store soon responded and repeated the order of six bowls of herbal tea.

The waiter had just greeted a few people and sat them down when he saw out of the corner of his eye a wealthy businessman in his thirties dressed in brocade.

The wealthy businessman was tall, with a frown on his face and a stern look in his eyes, looking quite majestic. Behind him followed several young men in tight clothes.

These young men all wore swords on their waists and had sharp eyes. Without exception, they all held the swords at their waists and walked with brisk steps.

Every step he takes, he listens in all directions, keeps his eyes on all sides, and always pays attention to any movement around him.

One of them had a face full of tiger beard and looked the most majestic. It was obvious that he was a martial artist with good martial arts skills.

The waiters in teahouses are basically shrewd people who are well versed in the ways of the world. Although most of them are not very old, they are used to doing this kind of work and naturally have some ability to judge people.

This wealthy businessman has an extraordinary temperament, and the guards who protect him are basically top-notch fighters in the martial arts world, so naturally they are wealthy.

The waiter saw the visitor glance at the teahouse and seemed to want to stay, but when he looked at the laborers drinking tea outside the shop and frowned, he immediately understood what he meant and went to greet him.

"Sir, if you want to rest and drink tea, we have a quiet private room on the third floor, which is reserved for distinguished guests like you. There is no need to disturb you."

"Our teahouse is the largest teahouse at Xiangyang Wharf. From the private room on the third floor, you can see the boats on the river and the mountains and waters in the distance."

The rich businessman pondered for a moment and nodded.

The waiter who came to greet him immediately smiled, as this customer was the one he had invited to the private room.

According to the rules of the store, if he entertains VIP guests sitting in the private room, the more the guests spend, the more rewards he will get, so he is naturally very happy.

The wealthy businessman whispered something to the bearded man beside him, and the bearded man immediately stepped forward and spoke in a muffled voice.

"I need two private rooms, one for the four guards and the other for my master."

"okay."

The waiter nodded and bowed, then spoke loudly.

"Two seats in the private room on the third floor, six distinguished guests!"

Then the waiter greeted them and walked towards the teahouse, saying politely.

"This way, distinguished guest."

A few tea drinkers dressed as laborers who were a little closer to the door saw the waiter walking towards the teahouse towards the rich businessman, and they leaned to the sides and then continued to chat and laugh.

The rich businessman's eyes swept over the workers who were drinking tea at the door, and there was a hint of strangeness in his eyes.

However, the rich businessman did not stop. He followed the waiter who greeted him and walked into the teahouse, as if he did not want to attract too much attention.

Just as he entered the teahouse, a striking voice once again attracted the attention of the wealthy businessman.

The wealthy businessman looked in the direction of the sound and saw a middle-aged man with a thin face and slightly pale skin standing on a stage built in the teahouse.

When they entered the museum just now, they did not hear the storyteller's voice, so the rich businessman's attention was attracted.

However, it was only the strange noise that diverted his attention for a moment, and he still didn't have much intention to stay.

Just when the photo was taken, the storyteller's voice sounded.

The rich businessman stopped.

"The White Wolf has planted its clan flag thousands of miles away, and the exhausted Central Plains seems like a distant barbarian..."

Just the first sentence made the rich businessman tremble all over, his face changed color, and his breathing became rapid.

The storyteller on the stage was thin and frail, like a bamboo pole, and it seemed that a gust of wind could blow him to the ground.

But his voice was quite loud and could be heard clearly inside and outside the teahouse.

At this moment, the storyteller in the teahouse had already put down his glasses. After reading the first line of the poem, he quickly opened his folding fan.

Everyone's attention was already drawn to his first sentence, and the whole room fell into silence.

At this time, the faint sound of the folding fan opening was also clearly heard.

The storyteller sighed deeply, his face showing a sad look. Seeing that the atmosphere was ripe, he continued his lines.

"When there are no people to work in the fields, thieves will take advantage of the situation to rob ponds." "When a mountain is full of fierce creatures, it is like a tiger on the corner; when a lake is full of fierce creatures, it is like a snake on the road."

"When will the stone be engraved on Yanshan Mountain? It always makes the people suffer and wander..."

After the opening poem ended, the teahouse remained quiet and everyone slowly stopped smiling.

"During the Wuyin year, the Jiannu invaded the northern kingdom and plundered the capital. The nine frontier armies were unable to stop them. The people were filled with grief and the scene was absurd..."

The storyteller spoke in a low voice, without concealing his sadness.

"The mountains and rivers were shattered wherever the iron hooves stepped on them, and the blood flowed like a river wherever the curved swords passed by! More than 300,000 civilians were captured along the way, and their cries filled the fields. The gold and silver treasures looted amounted to millions, filling up 2,000 carts!"

"Although our soldiers won two small victories in the battles of Zhending and Jinan, the Jiannu were very powerful. Although we set up many defenses along the route, we still found it difficult to intercept them."

"Chen Guowei, the general of the Santun Camp, fled from the battlefield, allowing the Jiannu to capture Qingshan Pass and open up a way to escape."

"The Jiannu occupied the strategic point of Qingshan Pass, set up 49 camps around the mountain, and held their ground, waiting to transport the loot out of the pass..."

The storyteller did not get straight to the point in the first paragraph, but simply reviewed the previous events.

After all, not everyone can listen to the entire script every time, so we naturally have to take care of the customers who only come to the teahouse occasionally.

The waiter who was standing on the stairs noticed the change in the rich businessman's expression and also noticed that he stopped walking, so he spoke.

"The private rooms on the third floor for distinguished guests also have seats overlooking the stage, so it's just as convenient for listening to storytelling."

The rich businessman had come back to his senses by now. He nodded, retracted his gaze, raised his hand slightly, and said.

"lead the way."

The waiter smiled and led the way again, and the rich businessman and his entourage followed him upwards.

Walking all the way to the third floor, the waiter opened the door of a private room facing the stage.

The rich businessman stepped into the private room, and sure enough, the storyteller's voice was heard again.

"The troops from the nine frontier towns and the king's troops climbed up from the mountaintops on all sides and attacked the mountain from the top. The Jiannu camps were raining arrows down..."

The rich businessman frowned. In the past, storytellers only talked about things that happened a long time ago, but in Xiangyang City, some people were actually talking about things that happened recently.

Moreover, the setting poem sung by the storyteller at the beginning can even be defined as an anti-poem.

There were no people left to do hard labor and to till the fields, so thieves took advantage of the situation and started to rob ponds.

It means that the heavy corvee labor forced the people to be unable to farm, so that the fields were overgrown with weeds.

Thieves take advantage of chaos to wreak havoc throughout the world.

This clearly shows that the imperial court is incompetent and corrupt!
But no one in Xiangyang takes care of such matters.

Could it be that everything is really like this...

The rich businessman remained calm, took out a piece of silver from his pocket, placed it on the table, and pointed it towards the waiter who was making tea.

"We are transporting grain from southern Huguang. It seems that this place is quite different from ours. At the dock, we met yamen runners who claimed to be affiliated with the 'commercial taxation department'. They came to register the goods and collect commercial taxes."

"Brother, can you tell us something about the local area so that we can have an understanding and not be in the dark?"

When the waiter saw the small change pushed over by the wealthy businessman, his eyes immediately lit up.

However, he did not accept the change immediately, but spoke first.

"Your Excellency is easy to talk to."

"I am of low status and don't know much about the major events of the court."

"But I have heard of the 'commercial taxation' government office."

The waiter placed the tableware and explained respectfully while standing aside.

"It seems that the imperial court established a new government office because of the previous tax chaos, and the previous tax collection office was abandoned."

"The commercial taxes collected now are much higher than before. In addition, this government office is responsible for not only collecting commercial taxes, but also controlling the prices of goods in the city. It also sets the maximum prices for many goods."

"There are many more like this. Please don't offend the yamen runners of the 'commercial taxation'..."

The waiter glanced left and right, then leaned forward and lowered his voice.

"Some time ago, many people from the Chamber of Commerce united together and even used their connections to pass the news to the government office in Xiangyang Prefecture."

"But within a day, the soldiers in the city investigated and dealt with all those chambers of commerce."

The wealthy businessman frowned slightly, and a solemn look appeared on his face, but he quickly restrained it.

Then he asked some more questions about the situation in Xiangyang.

The waiters knew everything.

After asking the question, the rich businessman clasped his fists and said amiably.

"Thank you for your help, little brother. I don't have any more questions."

Hearing the rich businessman's words, the waiter smiled and accepted the change.

The rich businessman ordered some food at random, and then the waiter tactfully left the private room.

The man with a tiger beard who was sitting opposite the rich businessman watched the waiter leave the private room before turning around and speaking to the rich businessman.

"Sir, it seems that things are really as we thought..."

The rich businessman's expression was solemn and he no longer concealed his feelings. His brows were almost wrinkled into a shape of a "川" (cross) and he sighed.

"What a 'commercial taxation', what a Chen Wang..."

"Now it seems that Xiangyang has completely fallen into Chen Wang's control, and he is not trying to hide it at all."

The man with the tiger beard also looked solemn, his eyes were hesitant and his heart was uneasy.

"Then let's..."

The wealthy businessman shook his head and looked at the Taichung storyteller below.

The storyteller had already reached the end of the battle at Gongshutai.

"The Jiannu general Tan Tai was wearing red and yellow gilded armor, holding two Xuanhua axes, and leading his armored soldiers to charge all the way. All the officers and soldiers on the mountain road were unable to resist him."

"Just when the situation was critical, General Chen was seen on the cliff, drawing his bow and drawing his arrow!"

"The tiger's eyes are full of power and gleam with cold light, and the precious eagle bow is open like a full moon!"

"Tan Tai was in the middle of a killing spree when he suddenly felt a chill in his throat. He looked down..."

A striking sound was heard, and the storyteller raised his voice and spoke in an onomatopoeic manner.

"puff!"

"An eagle feather arrow has pierced through the throat!"

"This arrow is like a meteor chasing the moon! It is also like thunder splitting the sky!"

"This is exactly - 'The eagle feathers piercing the sun frighten the enemy, and the divine arrows guide the army to retreat'!"

As soon as the storyteller finished speaking, he was immediately greeted with applause from the whole room.

The rich businessman was speechless.

The storytelling these storytellers told was probably the script that Chen Wang had people write in order to create momentum.

At this time, there was a knock on the door outside the private room.

"Enter."

The tiger-bearded man turned his head towards the door and responded.

The door of the private room opened.

But the person standing outside the door was not the waiter who came to serve tea and snacks.

Instead, it was a team of fully armed soldiers holding swords.

The leading officer was wearing Ming armor, holding a goose-feather sword, a Ming helmet, a neck guard, and a face mask. There was almost no seam on his body, only a pair of eyes were exposed.

As their eyes met, the officer raised his hand slightly. His voice was hoarse and gloomy, as if it came from far underground.

"You two lords, please."